Jason Day's shot at 59 falls short to disappointment of some

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Jordan Spieth did exactly what he wanted to do Friday morning when the first round of the weather-delayed BMW Championship resumed at Conway Farms Golf Club.

Jason Day did not.

Returning to the ninth hole — their last — to complete the opening round, Spieth spun his approach from 86 yards to three feet and made the birdie putt to cap a 6-under-par 65. While Spieth made it look easy, Day’s difficult chip shot from 44 yards for eagle — and a 59 — came up 10 feet short. Disappointed, Day then lipped out his birdie putt and settled — if that’s the right word — for a career-best and pace-setting 61 in the third leg of the FedExCup Playoffs.

“It sounds like everyone is disappointed,” said Day, who didn’t know he had a chance to shoot 59 until Spieth told him Thursday the course played to a par of 71. “Selfishly, 59 would have been great, but right now I'm just trying to focus on winning the tournament. I think that's more important than shooting the 59. Only a handful of guys have shot 59, and I understand what the history is about that, but right now winning the tournament is more important.”

Day leads Spieth, who finished his round with six birdies and an ace, and Daniel Berger, who completed his round before dangerous weather halted play Thursday, by four shots.

Brendon Todd and Kevin Chappell are in the clubhouse at 66.

Day was in a saturated lie in the rough. Even though he was able to place the ball at the resumption of play the shot remained difficult. Still, considering the roll Day has been on of late — he’s won three of his last five starts, including the PGA Championship for his first major — expectations for a great shot were extremely high.

“It was a bit weak,” Spieth joked of Day’s chip shot for a 59. “I mean, for a 59, being able to place it in the rough and softer greens, you know, you would have liked to see a better chance.”

Especially when Spieth, who has four PGA Tour titles this year and won the first two majors, has come to expect great things all the time from Day, adding that the only way he could win a hole was with a hole-in-one, which he made on the second hole on Thursday.

Spieth, world No. 2, tried his best to chase down Day in the PGA Championship, but the Aussie won by three shots in setting a major championship scoring record in relation to par of 20 under. Spieth also played with Day each of the first two rounds of the previous two FedExCup Playoffs events. Day won the first event, The Barclays, at 19 under. And Day has started the BMW with nine birdies and an eagle.

“It is definitely challenging,” Spieth said of staying within himself as he plays with Day. “It's something that I struggled with. … I try and force some stuff because I'm like, ‘Hey, there's birdies out there.’ Normally my game revolves around being patient, being able to make some putts to get into a rhythm. I just wasn't doing that, seeing the scores around me. It was tough.”

So Spieth, who wasn’t able to bounce back from mistakes the first two events and come close to catching Day as he missed both cuts, just started “kind of laughing at it.”

“It was a different approach. … This is what he's doing right now, and I just have to try and play my game, and I’m kind of laughing it off this week and that’s the difference. Coming in with a more positive vibe, just arriving on the premises and trying to smile a bit more helped me to react a little bit differently this time.”

Day, Spieth and Rickie Fowler, who shot 69, are scheduled to start the second round at 11:39 a.m. ET. But then Day will have eaten breakfast and put his failed shot at history behind him. He’s No. 3 in the world and could become world No. 1 at week’s end. He is seeking his fifth Tour title of the year.

“In my whole career I've never thought about shooting 59. It's never been on my mind because I just thought it was so far out of my reach,” Day said. “To be honest, I wasn't really thinking about it because I never thought I'd have the opportunity to do it. But then on top of it, my goal has always been getting to No. 1 and winning major championships. I wasn't really kind of thinking about that. … Today when I walked out there and everyone is watching, I was like, ‘Whoa, this is kind of important.’

"And once again, selfishly, I wanted to get it as close as possible. I mean, it's a tough shot to hole, but just trying to get that birdie to get to 11-under would have been nice.”